Asus 6Z Pros and Cons: Is it Worth Buying?

No smartphone is the perfect smartphone. Every device has its own perks and the Asus 6Z is no exception. Asus has been known as a brand for providing top-notch flagship specifications at a not so flagship price, and the 6Z follows on that tradition. This is a new flagship killer launched in the Indian market a couple of days ago. Let’s take a look at the Asus 6Z review, pros and cons to determine whether this is the device for you.

Asus 6Z Pros

1. No notch all-screen front

Since 2017 began, brands have been obsessing to get the highest screen to body ratio on their devices. On previous year flagships, we saw notched displays, either in the form of a bar at the top or in the form of a water drop to house the front camera. However, in 2018 brands have started to take a step towards all-screen fronts by implementing motorized selfie cameras. However, Asus goes one step further by implementing a flip camera setup, where the rear camera flips over to the front side to function as the front camera. This allows Asus to achieve a gorgeous 92% screen to body ratio, which looks stunning on hand.

2. Flagship processor

As mentioned above, this is a flagship killer and a flagship killer without the top tier processor is a no go. We see the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 with the 6Z  which is a beast in terms of mobile processors. We see a huge bump on CPU performance over last year’s 845 and is even more power-efficient. In terms of power under the hood, the 6Z ticks all the boxes.

3. Flagship camera setup

We get the flagship 48MP Sony sensor as the primary sensor on the rear side of this device which under normal scenarios produce good detailed pictures. We also see a wide-angle lens along with the primary sensor, making it a two-lens camera set up at the back. Now as this setup also flips over and functions as the front cameras, the level of detail and dynamic range achieved on selfies are best in comparison to any smartphone out there.

4. Huge battery

When most flagships keep on adding features, the one thing they fail to upgrade upon is the battery. We have phones in the past having the potential of being the best seller phones but just loses out because of the battery. But Asus with 6Z did not hold back at all in terms of battery as we see a gigantic 5000 mAh battery with support for quick charge 4.0. Out of the box, we only get the standard 18W charger which tops up the device to 70% in just about an hour. Asus claims a battery backup of two days with regular usage, but only time will be the judge of that.

5. Near stock UI

ZenUI has been a hit and a miss on the past as some users really liked it, while some absolutely downright hated it. So following on the likes of Oneplus, Asus has worked on their ZenUI and are now providing new Android stock experience with minimal bloatware, to provide pixel-like software experience. Near stock UI with two years of regular updates will appeal to lots of customers looking for a daily driver for the next couple of years.

6. Hi-Res Audio playback

Even though many brands don’t consider this, but nowadays our phones are the devices we use for music playbacks. We don’t see the digital players much like we used to before. So following on to the likes of LG, Asus here have provided support for Hi-Res audio playback. This might just be enough to attract the audiophiles out there. On top of it, Asus also provides Hi-Res supported earphones tuned by 1more in the box, which is a rare sight to see these days, as most brands don’t provide earphones with their smartphones anymore.

Asus 6Z Cons

1. Lack of AMOLED panel

With the 6Z you get a huge full-screen bezel display but it is an IPS panel. IPS panels are more than good enough to get the job done but the quality of an AMOLED is still superior to it. You don’t get the deep blacks or the punchy colours of an AMOLED panel with the 6Z, which might be a deal-breaker for many users who have used AMOLED display smartphones before.

2. No IP rating and wireless charging

Asus had to cut some corners to keep the price competitive and much like other similarly priced smartphones, Asus too did not opt for an IP rated smartphone. It might be splash resistant as many devices nowadays are, but it is definitely not a good idea to operate this phone underwater. On top of it, we also do not see wireless charging despite the glass back, but that should not be a deal-breaker as most people still prefer the much faster wired charging over the slow wireless one.

3. Poor low-light photography

Even though we get a very capable 48MP sensor, the phone still finds it difficult to take some detailed pictures in low light conditions. This might be fixed with some future software updates, but as of now, the low light camera performance is pretty average on the Asus 6Z.

4. Plain design

When most brands are opting for beautiful back panels, Asus takes a step back here and just goes for the old school plain black panel with a metal-glass sandwich implementation. There is some blue coloured branding at the back, but still, the device looks pretty basic on hand.

Is Asus 6Z Worth Buying?

The 6Z is the best Asus had to offer on 2019 as it tries to go up against the likes of Oneplus 7. At a sub Rs,35000 price tag, this is definitely a no-nonsense device. However, only the launch of the Redmi K20 will decide which is the ultimate flagship killer. If you don’t want to buy the K20 or don’t want to wait for it, then the Asus 6Z will give you a great bang for your buck in terms of price to performance ratio. The base 6GB + 64GB variant starts at Rs 31,999 and goes all the way up to Rs 39,999 for the 8GB + 256Gb variant. We also have the 6GB + 128GB variant priced at Rs 34,999.